Structure for FinFETs

ABSTRACT

An SRAM array is formed by a plurality of FinFETs formed by fin lines. Each fin line is formed in a substrate, wherein a bottom portion of the fin line is enclosed by an isolation region and an upper portion of the fin line protrudes above a top surface of the isolation region. From a first cross sectional view of the SRAM array, each fin line is of a rectangular shape. From a second cross sectional view of the SRAM array, the terminals of each fin line is of a tapered shape.

BACKGROUND

The semiconductor industry has experienced rapid growth due tocontinuous improvements in the integration density of a variety ofelectronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors,etc.). For the most part, this improvement in integration density hascome from repeated reductions in minimum feature size, which allows morecomponents to be integrated into a given area. However, the smallerfeature size may lead to more leakage current. As the demand for evensmaller electronic devices has grown recently, there has grown a needfor reducing leakage current of semiconductor devices.

In a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) field effecttransistor (FET), active regions include a drain, a source, a channelregion connected between the drain and the source, and a gate on top ofthe channel to control the on and off state of the channel region. Whenthe gate voltage is more than a threshold voltage, a conductive channelis established between the drain and the source. As a result, electronsor holes are allowed to move between the drain and source. On the otherhand, when the gate voltage is less than the threshold voltage, ideally,the channel is cut off and there are no electrons or holes flowingbetween the drain and the source. However, as semiconductor devices keepshrinking, due to the short channel leakage effect, the gate cannotfully control the channel region, especially the portion of the channelregion which is far away from the gate. As a consequence, aftersemiconductor devices are scaled into deep sub-30 nanometer dimensions,the corresponding short gate length of conventional planar transistorsmay lead to the inability of the gate to substantially turn off thechannel region.

As semiconductor technologies evolve, fin field effect transistors(FinFETs) have emerged as an effective alternative to further reduceleakage current in semiconductor devices. In a FinFET, an active regionincluding the drain, the channel region and the source protrudes up fromthe surface of the semiconductor substrate upon which the FinFET islocated. The active region of the FinFET, like a fin, is rectangular inshape from a cross section view. In addition, the gate structure of theFinFET wraps the active region around three sides like an upside-down U.As a result, the gate structure's control of the channel has becomestronger. The short channel leakage effect of conventional planartransistors has been reduced. As such, when the FinFET is turned off,the gate structure can better control the channel so as to reduceleakage current.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a layout diagram of a semiconductor device having aplurality of FinFET transistors in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of the semiconductor device ofFIG. 1 along the dashed line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross sectional view of the semiconductor device ofFIG. 1 along the line B-B′ in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a layout diagram of a FinFET transistor array inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a layout diagram of a FinFET transistor array inaccordance with another embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross sectional view of the semiconductor device ofFIG. 5 along the line C-C′ in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates a circuit diagram of a six transistor (6T) SRAM cellaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates a layout diagram of two adjacent SRAM cells inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 9 further illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell alongthe dashed line D-D′ shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line E-E′ shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line D-D′ shown in FIG. 8 according to another embodiment;

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line E-E′ shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 13 illustrates a circuit diagram of a single port SRAM bit cellaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates an equivalent circuit of the SRAM cell shown in FIG.13;

FIG. 15 illustrates a circuit diagram of an SRAM array having one columnand two rows in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 16 illustrates a layout diagram of the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM array of two rows andtwo columns in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 18 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line F-F′ shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 illustrates a layout diagram of the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 13in accordance with another embodiment;

FIG. 20 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM array having two rowsand two columns in accordance with another embodiment;

FIG. 21 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM cell in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 22 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM cell in accordance withanother embodiment; and

FIG. 23 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM cell in accordance withyet another embodiment.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures aredrawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the variousembodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the present embodiments are discussed in detailbelow. It should be appreciated, however, that the present disclosureprovides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in awide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussedare merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the embodimentsof the disclosure, and do not limit the scope of the disclosure.

The present disclosure will be described with respect to embodiments ina specific context, a fin field effect transistor (FinFET) having atapered shape at its terminals. The embodiments of the disclosure mayalso be applied, however, to a variety of semiconductor devices.Hereinafter, various embodiments will be explained in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a layout diagram of a semiconductor device having aplurality of FinFET transistors in accordance with an embodiment. Thesemiconductor device 100 includes two portions. The first portion 102may be formed over an n-well. The second portion 104 is formed over ap-well. As person having ordinary skill in the art will readilyunderstand that a drain/source region of a fin transistor is generallydoped an opposite dopant type from the dopant type of the well in whichthe drain/source region is formed. For example, a drain/source region ofa fin transistor is generally p-type doped when the well in which theactive area is formed is an n-type well.

As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor device 100 may comprise four gateregions extending parallel from left to right across the first portion102 and the second portion 104. The semiconductor device 100 maycomprise six active regions. In particular, the first portion 102comprises three active regions. In accordance with an embodiment, theactive regions of the first portion 102 are a fin shaped structure (notshown but illustrated in FIG. 2) protruding over the surface of thesemiconductor substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, the active regions areformed in parallel. Likewise, the second portion 104 comprises threeactive regions. In accordance with an embodiment, the active regions ofthe second portion 104 are a fin shaped structure protruding over thesurface of the semiconductor substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, the gateregions and the active regions are orthogonal to each other. Atransistor is formed at the cross point of a gate region and an activeregion.

The semiconductor device 100 may further comprise various contacts suchas gate contact 122 and gate contact 124 formed over the gate regions.The contacts including gate contacts shown in FIG. 1 may be employed tocouple different active regions of the semiconductor device 100. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the contacts can comprise any acceptableconductive material, such as a doped semiconductor or metal, such ascopper, titanium, tungsten, aluminum, or the like.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of the semiconductor device ofFIG. 1 along the dashed line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2,there may be six FinFETs formed over a substrate 202. The substrate 202may be a silicon substrate. Alternatively, the substrate 202 maycomprise other semiconductor materials such as germanium, compoundsemiconductor materials such as silicon carbide, gallium arsenide,indium arsenide, indium phosphide and the like. In accordance with anembodiment, the substrate 202 may be a crystalline structure. Inaccordance with another embodiment, the substrate 202 may be asilicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate.

An n-well region 212 and a p-well region 214 are formed in the substrate202. Referring back to FIG. 1, the first portion 102 of thesemiconductor device 100 is formed over the n-well region 212. Likewise,the second portion 104 of the semiconductor device 100 is formed overthe p-well region 214. Three fin structures 242 are formed over then-well 212. As shown in FIG. 2, each fin structure protrudes up from thesurface of the n-well 212. The fin structure is rectangular in shapefrom a cross section view. In addition, the gate electrode 232 wrapseach fin structure around three sides like an upside-down U. It shouldbe noted that there is a gate dielectric layer formed between the finstructure and the gate electrode. It should further be noted that whileFIG. 2 shows the fin structure is rectangular in shape, the sidewall ofthe fin structure may not be a vertical line. The fin structure may beof a trapezoidal shape. In accordance with an embodiment, the bottominterior angle of the trapezoidal shape is greater than 86 degrees.

Likewise, three fin structures 244 are formed over the p-well 214. Asshown in FIG. 2, each fin structure protrudes up from the surface of thep-well 214. The fin structure is rectangular in shape from a crosssection view. In addition, the gate electrode 234 wraps each finstructure around three sides like an upside-down U. In addition, theremay be a gate contact 124 formed over the gate electrode 234.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fin structures (e.g. fin structures 242 and 244)are partially enclosed by an isolation region 222. More particularly,the bottom portions of the fin structures (e.g., bottom portions of thefin structure 242) are embedded in the isolation region 222. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the isolation region 222 may beimplemented by using a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure.

The STI structures (e.g., isolation region 222) may be fabricated byusing suitable techniques including photolithography and etchingprocesses. In particular, the photolithography and etching processes maycomprise depositing a commonly used mask material such as photoresistover the substrate 202, exposing the mask material to a pattern, etchingthe substrate 202 in accordance with the pattern. In this manner, aplurality of openings may be formed as a result. The openings are thenfilled with dielectric materials to form the STI structures (e.g.,isolation region 222). A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process isthen performed to remove excess portions of the dielectric materials,and the remaining portions are the isolation region.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross sectional view of the semiconductor device ofFIG. 1 along the line B-B′ in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, gate structures 312 and314 are formed over the fin line 306. The gate structures 312 and 314may each include a gate dielectric, a gate electrode, and dielectricsidewall spacers. The gate dielectric and gate electrode can be formedby depositing a dielectric layer and an electrode layer sequentially onthe substrate 202 and etching the layers into the patterned gatedielectric and gate electrode. A dielectric layer can then beconformally deposited and etched to form the dielectric sidewallspacers. A person having ordinary skill in the art will readilyunderstand acceptable materials and processes for forming thesecomponents.

FIG. 3 further illustrates other two gate structures 316 and 318partially formed over the fin line 306. In other words, the terminals ofthe fin line 306 are embedded in the gate structure 316 and 318respectively. Referring back to FIG. 1, the end of the fin line iswrapped by the gate region from four sides. As shown in FIG. 1, the endof the fin line is embedded in the gate region. The cross section viewshows the terminals of the embedded fin line has a tapered shape. Moreparticularly, from the cross sectional view of FIG. 3, the bottominterior angle of the tapered shape is less than 83 degrees.

In FIG. 3, drain/source regions 322 are formed. The drain/source regions322 can be formed by etching openings in the drain/source regions of thefin 306 and epitaxially growing the drain/source regions 322. Thedrain/source regions 322 can comprise, for example, silicon germanium(SiGe) for a p-type transistor or silicon carbon (SiC) for an n-typetransistor, although other materials may be used.

In accordance with an embodiment, when the FinFET is a p-typetransistor, an epitaxial growth material of the drain/source regions 322is selected from a group consisting of SiGe, SiGeC, Ge, Si, III-Vcompound semiconductor materials and any combinations thereof. On theother hand, when the FinFET is an n-type transistor, an epitaxial growthmaterial of the drain/source regions 322 is selected from a groupconsisting of SiP, SiC, SiPC, Si, III-V compound semiconductor materialsand any combinations thereof.

The drain/source regions 322 can be appropriately doped after theepitaxial growth or can be in situ doped during the growth. After thedrain/source regions 322 are formed, an additional sidewall spacer canbe formed on the sidewalls of the gate structures (e.g., gate structure312). The spacers can be formed by conformally depositing a dielectriclayer over the substrate 202 and etching.

The semiconductor device may further comprise an interlayer dielectriclayer (not shown) formed over the substrate 202 and fin 306. Theinterlayer dielectric layer is planarized to a top surface of the gatestructures, such as by a chemical mechanical polish (CMP). Contactopenings are etched, and a conductive material is deposited in thecontact openings and over the interlayer dielectric layer.

The conductive material is planarized to a top surface of the interlayerdielectric layer, such as by a chemical mechanical polish (CMP), leavingconductive material in the contact openings to form contacts 332. Theetching and deposition can be by any acceptable etching and depositionprocess, respectively.

The contacts 332 can comprise any acceptable conductive material, suchas a doped semiconductor or metal, such as copper, titanium, tungsten,aluminum, or the like. Further, a barrier layer (not shown) may beformed between the conductive material and the interlayer dielectriclayer, and an etch stop layer (not shown) may be formed over thesubstrate 202 under the interlayer dielectric layer. A person havingordinary skill in the art will readily understand appropriate processesand materials used for forming these components.

An advantageous feature of having a taper shaped fin terminal is thatthe taper shaped fin terminal helps to reduce the electrical fieldbetween the fin end and the dummy gate electrode (e.g., gate 316 and318). As a result, the FinFET has uniform characteristics. Such uniformcharacteristics help to improve the speed and function of the FinFET.

FIG. 4 illustrates a layout diagram of a FinFET transistor array inaccordance with an embodiment. The FinFET transistor array 400 includestwo transistor cells, namely transistor cell 402 and transistor cell404. Each transistor cell of FIG. 4 is similar to the semiconductordevice 100 shown in FIG. 1, and hence is not discussed in further detailherein. It should be noted that the fin lines in FIG. 4 are notcontinuous between adjacent transistor cells. In order to furtherimprove isolation between different FinFET transistors, the fin lines donot extend into the adjacent transistor cell. Instead, the fin linestops at the dummy gates (e.g., dummy gates 412, 414, 416 and 418).

It should further be noted that the dummy gates (e.g., dummy gates 412,414, 416 and 418) may be coupled to ground when a fin line forms ann-type transistor on a p-well. On the other hand, the dummy gates may becoupled to a high voltage potential when a fin line forms a p-typetransistor on an n-well.

FIG. 5 illustrates a layout diagram of a FinFET transistor array inaccordance with another embodiment. The FinFET transistor array includestwo transistor cells, namely transistor cell 502 and transistor cell504. Each transistor cell of FIG. 5 is similar to the transistor cellshown in FIG. 4 except that the end of the fin line of each transistorcell is not embedded in the dummy gate. Instead, the fin line extendsoutside the gate region and forms a floating node. In comparison withthe fin line shown in FIG. 1, the fin line structure shown in FIG. 5helps to prevent the gate dielectric breakdown problem. As a result, thereliability of the FinFET is improved.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross sectional view of the semiconductor device ofFIG. 5 along the line C-C′ in FIG. 5. The cross section view of FIG. 6is similar to the cross sectional view shown in FIG. 3 except that theterminals of the fin line of each transistor cell is not embedded in thedummy gates. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminals of the fin lines (e.g.,terminals 612, 614 and 616) are of a tapered shape. In addition, thegate structures (e.g., gate structures 622, 624, 626 and 628) are notformed on the sidewalls of the fin lines. Instead, the gate structuresare formed over the top surface of the fin lines.

FIG. 7 illustrates a circuit diagram of a six transistor (6T) SRAM cellaccording to an embodiment. The SRAM cell 700 comprises a first inverterformed by a pull-up p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) transistorPU1 and a pull-down n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistorPD1. The SRAM cell 700 further comprises a second inverter formed by apull-up PMOS transistor PU2 and a pull-down NMOS transistor PD2.Furthermore, both the first inverter and second inverter are coupledbetween a voltage bus VCC and a ground potential VSS.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first inverter and the second inverter arecross-coupled. That is, the first inverter has an input connected to theoutput of the second inverter. Likewise, the second inverter has aninput connected to the output of the first inverter. The output of thefirst inverter is referred to as a storage node SN. Likewise, the outputof the second inverter is referred to as a storage node SNB. In a normaloperating mode, the storage node SN is in the opposite logic state asthe storage node SNB. By employing the two cross-coupled inverters, theSRAM cell 700 can hold the data using a latched structure so that thestored data will not be lost without applying a refresh cycle.

In an SRAM array (not shown) using the 6T SRAM cells, the cells arearranged in rows and columns. The columns of the SRAM array are formedby a bit line pairs, namely a first bit line BL and a second bit lineBLB. In addition, the cells of the SRAM array are disposed between therespective bit line pairs. As shown in FIG. 7, the SRAM cell 700 isplaced between the bit line BL and the bit line BLB.

As shown in FIG. 7, the SRAM cell 700 further comprises a firstpass-gate transistor PG1 connected between the bit line BL and theoutput of the first inverter. The SRAM cell 700 further comprises asecond pass-gate transistor PG2 connected between the bit line BLB andthe output of the second inverter. The gates of the first pass-gatetransistor PG1 and the second pass-gate transistor PG2 are connected toa word line (WL).

As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 7, transistors PU1, PU2 arep-type transistors. Transistors PU1 and PU2 can be implemented by avariety of p-type transistors such as planar p-type field effecttransistors (PFETs), p-type fin field effect transistors (FinFETs) orthe like. Transistors PD1, PD2, PG1, and PG2 are n-type transistors.Transistors PD1, PD2, PG1 and PG2 can be implemented by a variety ofn-type transistors such as planar n-type field effect transistors(NFETs), n-type FinFETs or the like.

In operation, if the pass-gate transistors PG1 and PG2 are inactive, theSRAM cell 700 will maintain the complementary values at storage nodes SNand SNB indefinitely. This is so because each inverter of the pair ofcross coupled inverters drives the input of the other, therebymaintaining the voltages at the storage nodes. This situation willremain stable until the power is removed from the SRAM, or, a writecycle is performed changing the stored data at the storage nodes.

During a WRITE operation, bit lines BL and BLB are set to opposite logicvalues according to the new data that will be written into the SRAM cell700. For example, in an SRAM write operation, a logic state “1” storedin a data latch of the SRAM cell 700 can be reset by setting BL to “0”and BLB to “1”. In response to a binary code from a row decoder (notshown), a word line coupled to the pass-gate transistors of the SRAMcell 700 is asserted so that the data latch is selected to proceed to aWRITE operation.

After the SRAM cell 700 is selected, both the first pass-gate transistorPG1 and the second pass-gate transistor PG2 are turned on. As a result,the storage nodes SN and SNB are connected to BL and BLB respectively.Furthermore, the storage node SN of the data latch is discharged by BLto “0” and the other storage node of the data latch is charged by BLB to“1”. As a result, the new data logic “0” is latched into the SRAM cell700.

In a READ operation, both BL and BLB of the SRAM cell 700 arepre-charged to a voltage approximately equal to the operating voltage ofthe memory bank in which the SRAM cell 700 is located. In response to abinary code from the row decoder, a word line coupled to the firstpass-gate PG1 and the second pass-gate PG2 of the SRAM cell 700 isasserted so that the data latch is selected to proceed to a READoperation.

During a READ operation, through a turned on pass-gate transistors PG1and PG2, one bit line coupled to the storage node storing a logic “0” isdischarged to a lower voltage. Meanwhile, the other bit line remains thepre-charged voltage because there is no discharging path between theother bit line and the storage node storing a logic “1”. Thedifferential voltage between BL and BLB (approximately in a range from50 to 100 mV) is detected by a sense amplifier (not shown). Furthermore,the sense amplifier amplifies the differential voltage and reports thelogic state of the memory cell via a data buffer.

FIG. 8 illustrates a layout diagram of two adjacent SRAM cells inaccordance with an embodiment. As is known to those skilled in the art,when cells (e.g., SRAM cells 802 and 804) are arranged together to forman array, the cell layouts may be flipped or rotated to enable higherpacking densities. Often by flipping the cell over a cell boundary oraxis and placing the flipped cell adjacent the original cell, commonnodes and connections can be combined to increase packing density.

The bottom portion of FIG. 8 illustrates a layout diagram of the SRAMcell shown in FIG. 7 in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG.8, there may be four active areas, each of which is formed by a finline. The active regions extend parallel in a y-direction shown in FIG.8 across the width of the SRAM cell 802. The bottom portion of FIG. 8further illustrates four gate regions. The gate regions extend parallelin the x-direction shown in FIG. 8 along the length of the SRAM cell802. In addition, the fin lines are orthogonal to the gate regions inthe layout diagram. A transistor is formed at a cross point of a finline and a gate region. As shown in FIG. 8, the six transistors of theSRAM cell are formed at different cross points. For example, the firstpass-gate transistor PG1 is formed at the cross point of between thefirst fin line and the gate region labeled as PG1.

Two vertical dashed lines that intersect the SRAM cell 802 indicateboundaries between a p-type well in the substrate and an n-type well inthe substrate in which respective fin transistors are formed. As personhaving ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that adrain/source region of a fin transistor is generally doped an oppositedopant type from the dopant type of the well in which the drain/sourceregion is formed. For example, a source/drain region of a fin transistoris generally p-type doped when the well in which the active area isformed is an n-type well.

As shown in FIG. 8, the active areas of transistors PG1 and PD1 isformed in a p-type well. As a result, these transistors are n-typetransistors. The active areas of transistors PU1 and PU2 are formed inan n-type well. As a result, these transistors are p-type transistors.The active areas of transistors PD2 and PG2 are formed in a p-type well.Similarly, these transistors are n-type transistors.

As shown in FIG. 8, a single gate region is used as the gates oftransistors PD1 and PU1. Another single gate region is used as the gatesof transistors PD2 and PU2. In this manner, each single gate regionelectrically couples the gates of the respective two transistors. InFIG. 8, a single gate region is dedicated to the pass-gate transistorPG1. Another single gate region is dedicated to the pass-gate transistorPG2. However, a person skilled in the art should recognize that thesingle gate region dedicated to the pass-gate transistor PG1 may extendbeyond a cell boundary so that the gate region can be shared by anadjacent SRAM cell (not shown), as does the gate region for thepass-gate transistor PG2.

Various contacts and their corresponding interconnect vias may beemployed to couple components in the SRAM cell 802. Through a via and agate contact, a word line contact WL may be coupled to the gate ofpass-gate transistor PG1, and another word line contact WL is coupled tothe gate of pass-gate transistor PG2. Likewise, a bit line contact BL iscoupled to the drain of pass-gate transistor PG1, and a complementarybit line contact BLB is coupled to the drain of pass-gate transistorPG2.

A power source contact VCC is coupled to the source of the pull-uptransistor PU1, and another power source contact VCC is coupled to thesource of the pull-up transistor PU2. A ground contact VSS is coupled tothe source of the pull-down transistor PD1, and another ground contactVSS is coupled to the source of the pull-down transistor PD2. A storagenode contact SN couples together the source of transistor PG1 and thedrains of transistors PD1 and PU1. Another storage node contact SNBcouples together the source of transistor PG2, and the drains oftransistors PD2 and PU2.

The SRAM cell 804 is a duplicate cell but flipped over the X axis at thetop of the SRAM cell 802. The common features BL, VCC, and VSS, arecombined to save space. Thus the two cells pack into a space that isless than twice the cell boundary area. The N-wells are combined andextend in the Y direction, as do the P-wells.

FIG. 8 further illustrates in the p-well region, a continuous fin lineis shared by two adjacent SRAM cells. In contrast, in the n-well region,a discontinuous fin line is employed to form transistors. For example,the PU1 of the SRAM cell 802 and the PU1 of the SRAM cell 804 are formedby two different fin lines. More particularly, in the SRAM cell 802, PU1is formed at the cross point between a discontinuous fin line and itscorresponding gate region. A first drain/source region of PU1 is coupledto VCC through a contact. A second drain/source region of PU1 is coupledto the storage node SN.

FIG. 9 further illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell alongthe dashed line D-D′ shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 9, the crosssectional view of fin lines 814 shows that each fin line (e.g., finlines PG, Dummy, PU and PD) is of a rectangular shape. The upper portionof the fin protrudes over the top surface of the isolation region 812.Moreover, the gate regions wrap the upper portions of the fin linesaround three sides. As a result, the gate structure can better controlthe channel so as to reduce leakage current.

It should be noted while FIG. 9 shows that each fin line is of arectangular shape from a cross sectional view, due to operational orprocessing variations, the fin line may be of a slightly different shapesuch as a trapezoidal shape. In accordance with an embodiment, if thefin line is of a trapezoidal shape, the bottom interior angle of thetrapezoidal shape is greater than 86 degrees. It should further be notedthat the height of the fin lines shown in FIG. 9 is defined as a firstSTI depth. The detailed definition of the first STI depth will bedescribed below with respect to FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line E-E′ shown in FIG. 8. The cross sectional view of FIG. 10 issimilar to the cross sectional view shown in FIG. 3 except that aplurality of butt contacts are employed to couple the contacts of thedrain/source regions and the dummy gate structures. In addition, theheight of the fin line is defined as a second STI depth. In accordancewith an embodiment, the ratio between the first STI depth shown in FIG.9 and the second STI depth shown in FIG. 10 is approximately equal to1.3.

FIG. 11 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line D-D′ shown in FIG. 8 according to another embodiment. Thefin line is formed by two portions. Each fin comprises an upperrectangle stacked on top of a bottom trapezoid. In accordance with anembodiment, the bottom interior angle of the trapezoidal region is in arange from about 86 degrees to about 90 degrees.

It should be noted that the fin shape shown in FIG. 11 is merely anexample, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims. One ofordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations, alternatives,and modifications. For example, due to processing and operationalvariations, either the upper portion or the bottom portion may be of ashape similar to a trapezoid or a rectangle. A skilled person in the artwill appreciate that a fin structure having a minor variation in shapeis fully intended to be included within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 11, the height of the upper portion of the fin line isdefined as a third STI depth. Likewise, the height of the fin line isdefined as a fourth STI depth. In accordance with an embodiment, theratio between the fourth STI depth and the third STI depth isapproximately equal to 2. One advantageous feature of having a widerbottom trapezoid is that the well resistance of the FinFET is improvedbecause the wider width of the bottom rectangle helps to reduce the wellresistance.

In accordance with an embodiment, in order to achieve better transistorthreshold tuning, anti-punch through and well isolation, the upperportion of the upper rectangle and the upper portion of the bottomtrapezoid may have different doping concentrations. For example, theupper portion of the rectangle may have a higher doping concentrationthan the upper portion of the rectangle.

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line E-E′ shown in FIG. 8. The cross sectional view of FIG. 12 issimilar to the cross sectional view shown in FIG. 10, and hence is notdiscussed in further detail herein. As shown in FIG. 12, the height ofthe fin line is defined as a fifth STI depth. In accordance with anembodiment, the ratio between the fourth STI depth shown in FIG. 11 andthe fifth STI depth shown in FIG. 12 is approximately equal to 1.3.

FIG. 13 illustrates a circuit diagram of a single port SRAM bit cellaccording to an embodiment. The cell includes pull-up transistors PU1and PU2, pull-down transistors PD1 and PD2, pass-gate transistors PG1and PG2, and dummy transistors dummy-1 and dummy-2. As show in thecircuit diagram, transistors PU1, PU2, IS1, and IS2 are p-typetransistors, such as planar p-type field effect transistors (PFETs) orp-type fin field effect transistors (FinFETs), and transistors PD1, PD2,PG1, and PG2 are n-type transistors, such as planar n-type field effecttransistors (NFETs) or n-type FinFETs.

The drains of pull-up transistors PU1 and pull-down transistor PD1 arecoupled together, and the drains of pull-up transistor PU2 and pull-downtransistor PD2 are coupled together. Transistors PU1 and PD1 arecross-coupled with transistors PU2 and PD2 to form a data latch. Thegates of transistors PU1 and PD1 are coupled together and to the drainsof transistors PU2 and PD2, and the gates of transistors PU2 and PD2 arecoupled together and to the drains of transistors PU1 and PD1. Sourcesof the pull-up transistors PU1 and PU2 are coupled to power voltage Vdd,and the sources of the pull-down transistors PD1 and PD2 are coupled toa ground voltage Vss.

Storage node N1 of the data latch is coupled to bit line BL throughpass-gate transistor PG1, and storage node N2 is coupled tocomplementary bit line BLB through pass-gate transistor PG2. Storagenodes N1 and N2 are complementary nodes that are often at opposite logiclevels (logic high or logic low). Gates of pass-gate transistors PG1 andPG2 are coupled to a word line WL. The source and gate of the dummytransistor dummy-1 are coupled together and to the storage node N1, andthe source and gate of the dummy transistor dummy-2 are coupled togetherand to the storage node N2. Drains of the dummy transistors dummy-1 anddummy-2 are depicted as floating, but may be coupled to respective dummytransistors in adjacent cells.

FIG. 14 illustrates an equivalent circuit of the SRAM cell shown in FIG.13. The cross coupled inverters shown in FIG. 13 can be replaced by twoinverters. As shown in FIG. 14, the first inverter's output is coupledto the second inverter's input. Likewise, the second inverter's outputis coupled to the input of the first inverter. As such, the logic stateof the SRAM cell can be reliably maintained.

FIG. 15 illustrates a circuit diagram of an SRAM array having one columnand two rows in accordance with an embodiment. The SRAM array 1500includes two SRAM cells. Each SRAM cell has a structure similar to thatshown in FIG. 14, and hence is not discussed in further detail to avoidunnecessary repetition.

FIG. 16 illustrates a layout diagram of the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 13.In FIG. 16, an active area extends across the width of the cell in ap-type well to form components of transistors PG1 and PD1, andsimilarly, another active area extends across the width of the cell in ap-type well to form components of transistors PG2 and PD2. Likewise, inan n-type well, PU1 and Dummy1 are formed at the cross points betweenthe first fin line and two gate regions respectively. The source andgate of Dummy1 are coupled together and to the storage node SN. Thedrain of Dummy1 is depicted as floating, but may be coupled torespective dummy transistors in adjacent cells. Similarly, PU2 andDummy2 are formed at the cross points between the second fin line andtwo gate regions respectively. The source and gate of Dummy2 are coupledtogether and to the storage node SNB. The drain of Dummy2 is depicted asfloating, but may be coupled to respective dummy transistors in adjacentcells.

FIG. 17 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM array of two rows andtwo columns in accordance with an embodiment. Each SRAM cell of FIG. 17is similar to the SRAM cell 1600 shown in FIG. 16, and hence is notdiscussed in further detail herein. The SRAM array 1700 has two columnsand two rows of SRAM cells. As shown in FIG. 17, dummy transistors areformed in the SRAM array in an alternating manner. In particular, thedummy transistors in one SRAM cell are symmetrical to the dummytransistors in its adjacent SRAM cell. In other words, the dummytransistors in the SRAM array are minor images along a border betweenthe adjacent cells.

FIG. 17 further illustrates that pull down transistors and pass-gatetransistors of the SRAM array are formed by continuous fin lines. Inother words, the continuous fin lines extend throughout an array of SRAMcells. In contrast, the pull up transistors of the SRAM array are formedby discontinuous fin lines. In other words, the discontinuous fin linescannot extend throughout the array of SRAM cells. One advantageousfeature of having continuous fin lines is that the continuous fin linescan extend across multiple SRAM cells without being interrupted by anisolation area. This configuration can improve the uniformity of anarray layout, and thereby, avoid lithography problems that may arise informing the active areas, particularly fins for FinFET active areas andin small technology nodes.

FIG. 17 further illustrates dummy transistors formed in a symmetricalmanner. One advantageous of having dummy transistor arranged in asymmetrical manner is that the coupling capacitance at bit lines of twoadjacent SRAM cells is better balanced. Such balanced couplingcapacitance helps to further improve the speed and function of an SRAMarray. In addition, the dummy transistors arranged in a symmetricalmanner shown in FIG. 17 help to improve other SRAM electricalcharacteristics such as operation speed, cell matching, minimumoperational voltage and the like.

FIG. 18 illustrates a cross sectional view of the SRAM cell along thedashed line F-F′ shown in FIG. 17. The cross sectional view of FIG. 18is similar to the cross sectional view shown in FIG. 6, and hence is notdiscussed in further detail herein.

FIG. 19 illustrates a layout diagram of the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 13in accordance with another embodiment. The layout diagram of FIG. 19 issimilar to that of FIG. 17 except that the transistors in the p-typewells are formed by two active areas. In FIG. 19, two active areasextend across the width of the cell in a p-type well to form componentsof transistors PG1 and PD1, and similarly, two active areas extendacross the width of the cell in a p-type well to form components oftransistors PG2 and PD2. Various modifications can be made to contactsand gates to extend to cover and/or contact appropriate components. Oneadvantageous feature of having transistors PG1, PD1, PD2, and PG2 formedby two active regions is that the channel width of each transistor canbe effectively doubled, thereby increasing the driving ability of eachtransistor.

FIG. 20 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM array having two rowsand two columns in accordance with another embodiment. The layoutdiagram of the SRAM array 2000 in FIG. 20 is similar to that of the SRAMarray 1700 shown in FIG. 17 except that the transistors in the p-typewells are formed by two fin lines. An advantageous feature of having twofin lines is that the channel width of each transistor is increased sothat the function and speed of the SRAM array may be improved as aresult.

FIG. 21 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM cell in accordance withan embodiment. Referring back to FIG. 7, the SRAM cell 700 may comprisea first VSS line, a second VSS line, a first bit line BL, a second bitline BLB and a power source line VCC. In FIG. 21, the five linesdescribed above are formed in a second interconnect layer M2. Moreparticularly, these five lines, namely VSS 1, BL, VCC, BLB and VSS2,extend parallel in the y-axis shown in FIG. 21.

In FIG. 7, the SRAM cell 700 further comprises a first word line and itscorresponding landing pads. As shown in FIG. 21, the first word line andlanding pads are formed in the first interconnect layer M1. In addition,a plurality of vias Vial are employed to couple the circuits of thefirst interconnect layer M1 and the circuits of the second interconnectlayer M2.

FIG. 22 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM cell in accordance withanother embodiment. The layout diagram of FIG. 22 is similar to that ofFIG. 21 except that landing pads, VSS lines, Vdd lines, bit lines areformed in the first interconnect layer M1, and the word line is formedin the second interconnect layer M2. In addition, FIG. 22 shows theremay be a plurality of vias Vial) formed between contacts and the firstinterconnect layer M1.

FIG. 23 illustrates a layout diagram of an SRAM cell in accordance withyet another embodiment. The layout diagram of FIG. 23 is similar to thatof FIG. 22 except that a VSS power mesh is employed to further improvethe function and speed of the SRAM cell. As shown in FIG. 23, the VSSpower mesh is formed in the second interconnect layer M2.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure and its advantages havebeen described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims.

Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the present disclosure, processes, machines,manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presentlyexisting or later to be developed, that perform substantially the samefunction or achieve substantially the same result as the correspondingembodiments described herein may be utilized according to the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to includewithin their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositionsof matter, means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an isolation regionformed in a substrate; a fin line formed in the substrate, wherein: thefin line is wrapped by a first gate electrode structure to form a firsttransistor; and an end of the fin line is of a tapered shape, andwherein the fin line comprises: a channel connected between a firstdrain/source region and a second drain/source region of the firsttransistor; and a second gate electrode wrapping the fin line to form adummy transistor.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the end of thefin line is embedded in the second gate electrode.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: the end the fin line extends outside the second gateelectrode to form a floating node, and wherein the second gate electrodeis configured such that: the second gate electrode is coupled to groundwhen the fin line and the second gate electrode form an n-typetransistor; and the second gate electrode is coupled to a high voltagepotential when the fin line and the second gate electrode form a p-typetransistor.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the first drain/sourceregion, the second drain/source region and the channel form a p-typeFinFET; and an epitaxial growth material of the first drain/sourceregion and the second drain/source region is selected from a groupconsisting of SiGe, SiGeC, Ge, Si, III-V compound semiconductormaterials and any combinations thereof.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the first drain/source region, the second drain/source regionand the channel form an n-type FinFET; and wherein an epitaxial growthmaterial of the first drain/source region and the second drain/sourceregion is selected from a group consisting of SiP, SiC, SiPC, Si, III-Vcompound semiconductor materials and any combinations thereof.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the isolation region is a shallow trenchisolation structure.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: from a firstcross sectional view, the fin line is of a bottom interior angle morethan 86 degrees.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: from a secondcross sectional view, the end of the fine line is of a bottom interiorangle less than 83 degrees.
 9. A system comprising: a first continuousfin line shared by a first pass gate transistor and a first pull downtransistor of a first memory cell, and a third pass gate transistor anda third pull down transistor of a second memory cell; a secondcontinuous fin line shared by a second pass gate transistor and a secondpull down transistor of the first memory cell, and a fourth pass gatetransistor and a fourth pull down transistor of the second memory cell;a plurality of discontinuous fin lines for pull up transistor of thefirst memory cell and the second memory cell, and wherein: thediscontinuous fin line is wrapped by a first gate electrode structure toform a pull up transistor; and an end of the discontinuous fin line isof a tapered shape; and a second gate electrode wrapping thediscontinuous fin line to form a dummy transistor.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein: a first end of the discontinuous fin line is coupledto a voltage potential; and a second end of the discontinuous fin lineis embedded in the second gate electrode.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein: the fin line is of a bottom interior angle more than 86 degreesfrom a first cross sectional view; and the first end and the second endof the fine line are of a bottom interior angle less than 83 degreesfrom a second cross sectional view.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein:the first cross sectional view includes a first depth; and the secondcross sectional view includes a second depth, wherein the first depth is1.3 times the second depth.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein: thefirst cross sectional view includes a first depth and a second depth;and the second cross sectional view includes a third depth.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein: the second depth is 2 times the firstdepth; and the second depth is 1.3 times the third depth.
 15. A memorycell comprising: a first inverter comprising: a first p-type transistor(PU) having a two-stage fin structure; and a first n-type transistor(PD) having the two-stage fin structure, wherein the first PU isconnected in series with the first PD; a second inverter cross-coupledto the first inverter comprising: a second PU having the two-stage finstructure; and a second PD having the two-stage fin structure, whereinthe second PU is connected in series with the second PD; a firstpass-gate transistor having the two-stage fin structure, wherein thefirst pass-gate transistor is coupled between the first inverter and afirst bit line; a second pass-gate transistor having the two-stage finstructure, wherein the second pass-gate transistor is coupled betweenthe second inverter and a second bit line; a first dummy device coupledto the first inverter; and a second dummy device coupled to the secondinverter.
 16. The memory cell of claim 15, wherein: the first pass-gatetransistor is formed on a first continuous fin line; the first PD isformed on the first continuous fin line; the first PU is formed on afirst discontinuous fin line; the second PU is formed on a seconddiscontinuous fin line; the second pass-gate transistor is formed on asecond continuous fin line; and the second PD is formed on the secondcontinuous fin line.
 17. The memory cell of claim 16, wherein: thediscontinuous fin line is wrapped by a first gate electrode structure toform the PU transistor; and an end of the discontinuous fin line is of atapered shape; and a second gate electrode wrapping the discontinuousfin line to form a dummy transistor.
 18. The memory cell of claim 17,wherein: a source of the dummy transistor and a gate of the dummytransistor are coupled together.
 19. The memory cell of claim 17,wherein: the tapered shape is of a bottom interior angle more than 86degrees; and from a cross sectional view, the discontinuous fine line isof a bottom interior angle less than 83 degrees.
 20. The memory cell ofclaim 17, wherein: a source of the dummy transistor and a gate of thedummy transistor are connected together through a butt contact.